Rybak had been cross-country skiing at Theodore Wirth Park early Saturday afternoon when he felt chest pains. He was transported to the hospital via ambulance, where doctors performed a procedure that inserted two stents.

When you think of words to describe R.T. Rybak, "depressed" certainly wouldn't be anywhere near the top of the list. But in a wide-ranging interview with Mpls St. Paul Magazine's Steve Marsh, the soon-to-be former mayor says that's how smoking a bunch of pot made him feel during his days at Breck High School.

Minneapolis mayor-to-be Betsy Hodges already has to deal with questions about whether she can fill R.T. Rybak's cycling, Trampled by Turtles-loving, crowd-surfing shoes as Cool Mayor. Add to the list: Will Hodges ever refer to herself as "da Maya"?

When Minneapolis voters head to the polls next week, they'll confront 35 candidates for mayor on the ballot. That includes no fewer than two running as some kind of pirate, and many more running for kicks, or around a pet issue.

Outgoing Mayor R.T. Rybak gets that this state of affairs is kind of a mess. "I know some people are nervous or confused," he wrote on his blog last night.

Allow us to introduce you to a local gay guy who will tell you otherwise. He calls himself "Second-Class Badger," and he has finally escaped Occupied Wisconsin and made it to the Free World of Minnesota.

"I moved to Wisconsin years ago because I thought it was a relatively progressive state," the local gay man mused. "I don't know what happened to the place."

"I hope the day comes very soon that all Illinoisans can marry the person that they love, and I strongly encourage the legislature and Governor Quinn to pass marriage equality as soon as possible," Rybak said in a press release. "But until that day comes, I'm here to steal your business."